Easy Sunomomo Salad

Total Time: 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 2 english cucumbers, the ones that come shrink wrapped in plastic, about 10 to 12-inch long each
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar, per preparation instructions
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup of tiny cherry tomatoes (you can substitute 1/2 cup of chopped )
• fresh tomato, of any type
• 1/2 lb of cup of pre-cooked shrimp

Recipe

• 1 pre-preparation: purchase a 24 fluid oz. (750 ml) bottle of marukan seasoned gourmet rice vinegar and add 1 level tablespoon of brown sugar to the bottle. shake and shelve (no need to refrigerate) until you need it.
• 2 if your shrimp is frozen, place them into the bottom of a 2 quart bowl.
• 3 set the mandolin for a very thin slice - about 1/8 inch, seat it firmly into the bottom into the bowl, and carefully slice the cucumbers into the bowl, allowing the juice from the cucumbers to remain in the bowl.
• 4 add the vinegar preparation and the orange juice, and mix thoroughly.
• 5 allow to stand for about 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and and toss again.

Hasty Habanero Jelly

Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces habanero peppers
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 (10 ounce) jars apple jelly

Recipe

• 1 rinse chilies and cut off stem ends. wearing gloves or holding chilies with a fork, cut chilies in half lengthwise. slice out and discard veins and seeds. cut chilies into 1/8" to 1/6" slivers. do not touch chilies with bare hands.
• 2 put chilies, vinegar, and sugar in a 4-5 quart pan. bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often, and boil until mixture is reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 7 minutes.
• 3 scrape jelly from jars into pan. stirring often, boil until jelly melts. ladle hot jelly back into the unwashed jars to within 1/4" of rims. wipe rims clean and screw lids onto jars. if there is a little extra jelly, pour into a small dish and cover when cool.
• 4 after 1-1/2 hours, gently shake jelly in jars to resdistribute chili pieces if they have floated to the top. when jelly is cool, use or store in the refrigerator up to 3 months.
• 5 decorate jar tops with colorful paper or fabric and tie with raffia or ribbon for gift giving.
• 6 cooking time is cooling period.

French Quarter Shrimp Creole

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup cayenne pepper sauce
• 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• hot cooked rice

Recipe

• 1 melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet; blend in 2 tablespoons flour. add onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic; cook and stir over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and flour mixture is lightly golden.
• 2 stir in tomatoes and hot sauce. heat to boiling. reduce heat to medium-low. cook, uncovered, 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. stir occasionally. add shrimp. cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp are pink. serve over rice. garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Easy Taco Rice

Greek Eggplant (aubergine) Pie

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 3 -4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large aubergine, 5 cups sliced (eggplant)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 6 ounces fresh spinach, washed
• 4 eggs
• 3 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup fat-free parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt (plain)
• 6 tablespoons skim milk
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 refrigerated pie crust

Recipe

• 1 bake pie crust according to direction on pkg.
• 2 to make the filling, heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the aubergine slices for 6-8 minutes on each side until golden. you may need to add a little more olive oil at first, but this will be released as the flesh softens. lift out the aubergine slices and drain on a plate covered with a few layers of kitchen paper.
• 3 add the onion and garlic to the oil remaining in the pan and fry over a gentle heat for 4-5 minutes until soft, adding a little extra oil if necessary.
• 4 chop the spinach finely, by hand or in a food processor. beat the egg in a large mixing bowl.
• 5 add the spinach, crumbled feta, parmesan, yogurt, milk and the onion mixture to the eggs. season well with salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.
• 6 spread the cooked rice in an even layer over the base of the pastry case. reserve about 8 aubergine slices - save the best ones as these will be placed over the top - and arrange the rest in an even layer over the rice.
• 7 spoon the spinach and feta mixture over the aubergines and place the reserved slices of aubergine on top. bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. serve warm or cold, with a mixed salad.

Fassoulei Bil Zeit (green Beans With Onion)

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced (yellow or red)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups water

Recipe

• 1 saute the onion and garlic in olive oil in a pan until softened. add the diced tomato and simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients. when it starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the green beans are cooked.
• 2 serve over rice (and some warm flatbread would be nice, too).

Dill Beer Bread (gift In A Jar)

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried dill
• 12 ounces beer (or 12 oz. unflavored seltzer)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Recipe

• 1 to make mix: combine first 3 ingredients and place in an airtight container.
• 2 to bake: preheat oven to 375 degrees f. in a large mixing bowl, combine mix with beer (or seltzer) with a wooden spoon. the batter will be lumpy, don't overmix.
• 3 place batter in a greased loaf pan. pour 1/3 of the melted butter over the dough.
• 4 bake for 40 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the butter over the top of the bread. continue baking for 10 minutes more.
• 5 pour the last 1/3 of the butter over the top of the bread and bake 10 more minutes. remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30-40 minutes.